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Coming April 2017...... 🖤

Origins GinZing Eye Cream - Review

Hey guys,

So the nights are getting shorter and the rainy days have begun, that can only been one thing... Autumn is coming which means your skin needs a helping hand to stay moisturised!

One of my favourite parts of my skin care routine is under eye creams! I have tried plenty of eye creams and I tend to just apply them because they are a step in my skin care routine!

I recently brought this Origins GinZing Eye Cream from a beauty outlet, I have heard great things about this but I mainly brought it because of the reduced price.. I mean who doesn't love a bargain?

This eye creams is literally a life changer, it is perfect to use at night, under makeup or even just on its own, it has ever so slight shimmers through it which really make you look awake and ask makes your under eyes look radiant and glowy!

I honestly can't recommend this product enough, after 4 months of owning this product I still have over 1/4 left, a little really goes a long way!

Until next time....

💜

@BloggCourtney

New in September & Favourites so far.

Hello my lovelies. 

So it looks like summer (if you could call it that) is officially over. I thought I would get in one last blog post that doesn't include cosy jumpers, festive drinks and the Christmas hype. 

As some of you may be aware if you follow me on Twitter, I am lucky enough to be jetting off to New York City in a couple of weeks! Eeeek!! My parents have always promised me and my sister that once we have both turned 21, they would take us to New York as part of our present/last family holiday. I turned 21 a few years ago we have all been waiting on my sister who finally turned 21 this year. We are lucky enough to be going there for 5 days, so I have started buying alot of bits and bobs to go with (pack with me post coming soon). 
One of the main things on my 'to buy' list was a digital camera, I couldn't think of anything worse than carrying my DSLR round all day and in the evening when we are all dressed up. I was trying to get my hands on the Canon G7x but if you live in the UK you would know its really hard to get hold of, so I opted for the Sony RX100 which apart from the flip up screen is almost identical. I LOVE IT!!! I would say its almost better than my Canon 600d. Once I have been to New York and used the camera non stop, I will post a full review. 

Anyway... Onto the Favs.

Bondi Sands Everyday Tan
I have been on the hunt for a good, non streaky/non orange gradual tan for what seems like forever. I have my tanning mousses which are all good but I wanted something that I could use in between to either top up or for when I couldn't be bothered to fake tan. My Sister actually recommended this tan and its soooo good. It doesn't apply that well with your hands its much better if you use a mitt, the tan has more of a green undertone so its very natural and can be used everyday. 

Argan Oil Heat Defence
I am always on the hunt for something new for my hair, my hair has been ombred for just over a year now and its starting to look really dry and flat. You can guarantee that every time I wash my hair I forget to put in any heat defence spray or any oils, so I have invested in this heat defence spray with Argan Oil it in. Firstly this stuff smells amazing and secondly it cost less than £5! I know right, Perfect! On all serious notes, this stuff is amazing, it makes my hair feel so much softer and it adds a slight shine to the hair. 

Ear Cuff
I have never really been one for ear cuffs, I'm not sure why, they have just never interested in me. My Auntie actually got me these (they come with one for each ear) for Christmas and they have been shoved in a drawer as I cant get rid of them but I also never really had any intentions of wearing them. After a massive blitz of my bedroom I rediscovered them and gave them ago. They are so cute, and because they are all joined together it looks like multiple piercings. The only thing I would say is, they can be a little uncomfortable especially if you have piercings. I have a few piercings on each ear and they kind of get it the way with the cuff. 

Miss Dior 
Firstly, how cute is that bottle?! I was initially going to take a picture of the large bottle but this free sample looked much cuter. I'm not even going to try and explain what notes are in this perfume as I have no idea, but it does smell very classy, yet girly at the same time. Perfect for summer and winter. Its one of those perfumes that you will never get sick of. Love it. 

Thierry Muglar Body Cream
So I recently brought myself the Thierry Muglar Alien perfume and the perfume was actually the same price on its own or in a gift set. Obviously I went for the gift set, everyone loves to get something for free these days. The gift set included, a shower gel, body lotion and this. It looks like it should be an eye cream, but it is such a thick moisturiser and smells so strong, I think its one of those lotions you can rub into your skin instead of wearing perfume. 

Morphe 12nb Palette. 
Lastly but most definitely not least .. the Morphe 12nb palette. I have been trying to get my hands on this for literally the longest time. Every time I have gone to order it, it has been out of stock. I went onto Beauty Bay a week or so ago to buy some new make up brushes and just had a little look to see if there was a date of when this palette would be back in stock .. I nearly fell off my chair, it was in stock. I have never placed an order so fast. It only took a couple of days to arrive and I can assure you it is as beautiful in real life as on the website. All of the shadows are insanely pigmented and gorgeous. Next on my list is the 35O palette. 


Until next time...

💜

Instagram: @co_xo_
Twitter: @BloggCourtney

Welcome Back!

I have completely neglected my blog over the last couple of years, what with holding down a full time job, having a social life and just life in general I never had time to blog! Although my blog is just something fun for me to do, I always felt under pressure get posts out and I found myself raiding my bedroom looking for something to review or talk about and that it is definitely not what blogging should be about! 

It's far to easy to say at the beginning of the year that this is going to be the year or new start new me! Has anyone actually stuck to that? I know I certainly haven't! 

So I figured I would just start now! 

I have loads of things that I would like to  review over the next few weeks, I am going to aim to post once or twice a week and I am only going to be talking about items I genuinely love! 

Watch this space!! 

💜

Quay My Girl Sunglasses Review

These sunglasses are probably the most instagramed sunglasses of 2015, so it was only right that I joined the hype and purchased these beauties! 

These are the Quay My Girl Sunglasses, every since I first saw this, I have been searching everywhere for them! I actually bought these the end of summer 2015 when they were really hard to get hold of, I signed up to waiting lists, checked sites everyday! I ended up getting them from eBay, and they were shipped from the official Quay Austrailian site, I paid about £44 inc postage, and they took just over a week to turn up.

I always have trouble finding sunglasses that are comfortable, I have naturally quite long eyelashes and will not leave the house without mascara on. I find ally of glasses sit too close to my eyes and my lashes run on the lenses - it's soooo annoying! 

These fit perfectly!! And they are the perfect driving sunglasses, they aren't too dark, but because they are oversize they really block out a lot of light! 

Have you tried these?

Do what makes you happy xo

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub

I know I may be a little bit land on the bandwagon with this - the same with most things really. 

I was given a lot of bits from Lush this year for Christmas, and one of the items I received was the Bubblegum Lip Scrub! 

This is something I always look at in lush but never actually buy! A few times I have actually gone in just to get this but get so sidetracked with all the bath bombs etc and end up forgetting! 

I have used a few different lip exfoliators in the past and they have left my lips so dry for days after. The bubblegum lip scrub doesn't dry my lips out at all and it leaves them so soft and smooth!

I tend to lean towards matte lipsticks, and we all know there's nothing worse than having dry, cracked lips! 

It also tastes sooo good!! 

Have you tried any lip scrubs? 

Do what makes you happy xo 

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

So I haven't set any real New Years resolutions this year, just to focus on myself! 

One of the first things on my list to tackle is my skin! 

I don't have bad skin and I don't suffer from acne, I get the occasional break out if I have eaten unhealthy or if it's that time of the month but apart from that my skin is generally quite good! 

I am the first to admit however that my skin care routine is pretty non existent, I occasionally reach for my No7 moisturiser if I remember but it leaves my skin feeling so greasy! 

So new year means new skin care.... 

Ta Dah!! 

I decided to invest in the Cleanse & Polish from Liz Earle, I have been using it morning and night for the last week and I can already notice a massive difference, not only does my skin look cleaner and smoother, it feels amazing! 

I bought the starter kit, which came with the 100ml cleanse and polish and two muslin cloths and then I separately picked up the skin repair moisturiser for dry and sensitive skin! 

These both work so well together, next in my list is the Toner to complete my skin care routine! 

Have you tried the Liz Earle collection? 

Do what makes you happy xo

Verbena Candle Review

I'm surprised this is this first candle I have reviewed on my blog, I am slightly obsessed with candles, and I am constantly looking for different brands and different scents! 

I was gifted this candle recently, and I have kind of pushed it aside, as I always thought I had better candles to burn! 

Over the Christmas period I have been getting bored with all my Christmas candles, maybe because I started burning them the beginning of November, so I decided to give this one a go! 

 

This is the Verbena candle, this was from John Lewis, but I know these can be picked up at certain Garden Centres! 

This isn't a scent that I would normally choose, I tend to lean towards the sickly sweet food scents! 

This candle has a strong lemon scent, it kind of reminds me of sherbet, don't worry it isn't the toilet cleaner lemon your thinking of! 

This is one of the candles that you end up leaving out just for decoration due to the pretty crystal design on the top! Sadly when it does burn the 4 coloured blocks are the first to melt! 

Like I said I was given this candle, and I know it came from John Lewis, I believe it retails for around the £8-£10 mark, which I think is very reasonable, it claims to have a burn time of 35 hours - I'm afraid I can not confirm this as I haven't finished it yet! 

What candles are you loving at the moment? 

Do what makes you happy xo 

2016

Happy New Year.

Wow, can anyone else believe how fast 2015 went. Christmas just seemed to come and go this year, and now we are in 2016. Its crazy.

Firstly I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and spent it with people that mattered, if I have learnt anything from 2015 its not to waste your time on people who aren't there for you. I have lost many friends over the last year, but have met some great people who are true friends. 

For the first year in many I didn't spend new year stupidly drunk pretending to be someone I'm not, i had a nice quiet night in with a take away watching films and catching up, and it was lovely. And even better not waking up today with a hangover. 

There is a lot of status' going around - New Year new me.. blah blah.
For those of you that actually stick to that I hold my hands up to you, but I know most of you like myself say that every year and by the end of January its completely forgotten. 

So this year I'm just going to focus on me, and be completely selfish. Its about time I put myself first.
I have started the new year with a new job, and I absolutely love it. 

My only new years resolution this year is to put myself out of my comfort zone and do things that I always put off or make excuses for, and make a lot of memories this year.

Wishing everyone all the best for the upcoming year, 2016.

What are your new years resolutions or plans this year?


Do what makes you happy xo

January Favourites!!

Hey guys so I know January seems like a life time ago, but I still think there is enough time to do a January Favourites post! 

Okay so first up, something slightly different and something that usually gets forgotten is TV box sets! So about a year ago I subscribed to Netflix and rarely ever watched anything on there apart from the odd film. However this year I made myself branch out and watch programmes or films that aren't my usual type! 

I have 3 programmes that I am completely obsessed with are Prison Break, Criminal Minds and my latest addiction - Pretty Little Liars! All of these I have seen on Netflix for such a long time and I never really considered watching them! But I love watching tv when I go to bed and now I have plenty to watch! 

So for those of you that know me will know that I am always painting my nails or doing Shellac or anything nail relates, I can't get enough of it! I decided to get acrylics before Christmas and I love them, one I had got over the initial bruises feeling they felt really natural and easy to use, so beginning on January I took the old off and when to get them redone, I still have them on now and they have hardly grown out, I will definitely be getting new ones soon! 

Okay so about a year ago now I redecorated my room, and bought all new furniture! However I never actually got around to getting any accessories, purely because there wasn't anything I liked! 

I visited The Range a couple of weeks ago and came across Wall Stickers, and just knew I had to have one, the one I choose cost £2.99! Yes £2.99! I had to have it! Although it was a nightmare to apply to the wall it really looks good, I am obsessed with it at the moment 

So I decided to only name a few of my favourites as the rest are still in the progress of being used they are more February favourites than January's!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Courtney xo

@BloggCourtney 

Urban Decay Naked Flushed Review!

Hey guys, so seeing as I'm getting myself well and truly back into blogging this year, I thought it was about time to rekindle my love of reviewing makeup.

I am completely obsessed with makeup, you can never have enough, right?

Probably over the last couple of years, I have branched out and starting using higher end make up, mainly because working full time allows me to do so. Secondly I can never justify spending money on clothes, because I am working full time, I only have two days off a week, one of which is usually spent either nursing a hangover from the night before or just having a lazy day. So whats the point in spending loads of money on clothes, which by the time I usually get around to wearing items have already gone out of fashion.
 So I choose to splurge out on higher end makeup which I can wear everyday, even to work.

For those of you that know me, will know my favourite product to buy is foundation, I love trying different brands, and unless there is one that I completely love, I like to mix foundations to give me either a perfect colour or a perfect finish.
I think my love for foundations came around when I started college back in 2008, growing up and at school my Mum was really against me wearing makeup, I was allowed to wear mascara to school and occasionally eyeliner at the weekends but that was it, no face products. The first thing I used to do when I got into school was use my friends foundation, which was completely the wrong shade for me and plaster it all over my face, but I didn't even care that it was the wrong colour, I just loved how it covered all of my imperfections and gave me flawless looking skin ( I have alot a freckles, and I know its so say a sign of beauty, but I always cover them up. In the summer all I need to do is look at the sun and I have freckles coming out left right and centre.)

Completely going off track there, so now that I have sorted out the whole foundation situation, I figured it was time to take care of everything else that goes on top of my foundation. 
For years now I have used the Sleek Trio with the Contour shade, blush and highlight, and absolutely loved it, that was until I tried the Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette.

So in the palette, starting from the left is a contour/bronzer, the pay off is superb with this, and it really stays on all day, I usually find bronzers to be way to orange for me, I have quite pale skin (MAC NC15 - NC20) so bronzers usually stand out like a sore thumb and I can never blend them in seamlessly, its literally a nightmare. However this bronze shade is perfect, it has enough of a orange tinge to make you look healthy and glowing but not too much, and its doesn't look muddy either, its the perfect shade.
Next along is the highlight shade, comparing this to the Sleek palette, the Urban Decay one is sooo pigmented and you really do only need the smallest amount, I found with the Sleek highlight it used to end up with a film over it, and I always had to scrape the top layer off. The UD highlight is perfect for pale skin, and it has the very slightest pink tone it, so it really does make you look glowing and super healthy.
Lastly is the blush shade, which unlike the Sleek blush this one is completely matte which I completely love, and actually prefer. Again its very pigmented, and just a all round great blush, I would say the colour is very pink with peachy tones. 

This palette retails for £22.50, which I don't think is that expensive considering the quality of each part of the trio, and also taking into account you do technically receive 3 products in one, and they are all decent sizes as well. 
I honestly cant talk highly enough about this product, I know I will be using this for a long time to come.


Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this helpful.



Courtney xo
@BloggCourtney
 
 

My Perfume Collection!!

Hey guys, So seeing as Christmas had just been, I thought it would be a perfect time to show you my Perfume Collection, I Received 3 new perfumes for Christmas, and have been using them throughout January, so I figured now would be the perfect time to share them with you, I have used them enough now to decided if I really like them.

Firstly before we go into the perfumes, can we just take a minute to take in how cute my miniature light up tree is, I have been completely obsessed with it over the last couple of months. Eeek! I bought the tree in the sale from The Range, I think it was around the £7 mark, so super affordable, and its battery operated, which is perfect for me as I have limited plug sockets in my room, and most of them are already overfilled with cables for who knows what.

Lady Million

I received this perfume for Christmas from my sister, we visited Bath a few weekends before Christmas and I came across this perfume and fell in love with it straight away, its such a typical perfume for me, I love anything that smells sweet, sherbety or floral, so this is perfect.

I feel although its still a floral scent its much more of a grown up scent as opposed to alot of the sweet smelling fragrances at the moment.

I received the 50ml bottle, and I believe it retails for around the £50 mark, although it is usually on a special offer in different places.

Chanel COCO Mademoiselle  

Okay so my Mum originally bought this for herself, and then after a few months of wearing it decided it was too strong for her, and she passed it onto me, obviously I wasn't going to turn it down.

This scent is extremely strong and you really do only need to smallest amount and it literally lasts all day, saying that I would say this is more of a evening scent as opposed to daytime. 

Again this one is a floral scent, and is described as 'as light as a petal' online, I would have to disagree with this, I find the scent quite over powering and I always feel conscious that I am wearing too much, and because of that I hardly ever wear it, which is shame as the price for this perfume is £95.50 for 100ml.

Beckham Signature For Her

So this next one was a spur of the minute buy, I actually bought this on Amazon a few months before Christmas, I was after a cheap perfume to wear everyday at work and just to throw in my locker so I always had something on me. The scent of this isn't my favourite, but its not horrendous. 

Its a very fruity scent, with strong undertones of Vanilla and Musk.

This was a absolute bargain, I think it was about £15 for 100ml.

Prada Candy

I absolutely love this perfume, I think this is my signature scent and it will definitely be repurchased over and over again.

It is a fruity scent and floral scent and smells very light and fresh. Prada described it as “an excessive fragrance with too much of everything.” Which I think sums it up. 

This retails at around the £50 mark for 50ml.

Dolce And Gabbana Pour Femme 

I actually received a 30ml bottle of this for Christmas a few years ago and absolutely loved it, and then when it ran out I never got around to replacing it, just before Christmas when i was re decorating, I came across the empty bottle which reminded me about it, and I asked for a new one for Christmas this year. it was incredibly hard to find as on the bottle it doesn't have the name of the perfume, it just had Dolce And Gabbana written.

The Scent is very fresh and not in your face, and smells slightly vanilla with possibly a citrus note, I am awful at describing scents haha.

This retails for about £75 for 100ml.

Nino Cerruti 1881

I don't have a link to this one I'm afraid as I believe it has been discontinued, I was actually given this one from my mum as well as she never wore it and it used to just collect dust. Its a very strong smell and very musky. I wouldn't wear this through the day, its definitely a night time fragrance.

212 Sexy

Firstly I really like the design of this, as the two ends pull out of the centre part, which leaves you with two smaller bottles, so it is perfect for travelling or just carrying around in a handbag. The scent is very warm and spicy, not my usual scent I would lean towards, but it makes a nice change every now and again.

price wise its around £50 for 60ml (two 30ml bottles).

True Red

Again I believe this was limited edition as I cant find it anywhere online, I received it as a Christmas present and I believe its from Boots, it came in a gift set with a body lotion also.

The smell is quite masculine with a fruity undertone, its quite nice, however it doesn't last very long.

Well thats all for my Perfume collection, I hope you enjoyed reading, and it has been some what helpful if you are in the market for a new frangrance.

Courtney xo

@BloggCourtney

Where Have I Been??

Hey guys, So firstly I would like to apologise for being MIA for roughly the last year. I start really getting into blogging late 2013, and then the beginning half of 2014, and then I guess I didn't feel inspired to write, I felt like I didn't have anything interesting to write about and I wasn't overly impressed with products that I had used, so I decided to take a break for a couple of months (which ended up turning into nearly a year! Oops!). I then decided to leave my Retail Job about October time, and ended up working in Sales, 40 hours a week, and literally had no time to do anything, but now I have finally managed to start juggling my time better, and actually have time to start doing things that I want to do.

Now I have alot of products and items I want to share with you guys, so I thought there is no time like the present to start of the Blog again.

So here goes...

Hope you enjoy.


Courtney xo
@BloggCourtney

Benefit They're Real Mascara | Review!

Hey guys, every Christmas without fail I always get given a high end mascara, the last couple of years I have received Lancome Mascaras, I don't usually ask for any particular ones I think mascara is one of those things that are personal and whilst one person could love a certain mascara another could hate it.

 However I did ask for the Benefit Mascara this year, I live in a smallish town and we have a couple of Boots which just stock your drug store brands and very basic items, you actually have to go into our town centre to buy any decent make up. Usually when I need makeup its a last minute decision, and seeing as I work right next to a small boots I usually end up picking up a cheap mascara to tide me over.

One of the main reasons I wanted to try this mascara was the plastic wand, I am a huge fan of plastic brushes as I feel it really separates my eyelashes and you can really get into the roots, where as with the other types of brushes it can sometimes be really messy, and we all know how annoying it is getting mascara on your skin after applying your foundation! I particularly like the wand on this one as it has a spikey wand on the end also which allows you to separate lashes right in the corner which are a nightmare to get to!

Another problem I find with some mascaras is that after wearing it for a few hours I end up with black smudges under my eyes, For the last 3 months I have been wearing a different mascara on the top lashes to the bottom, which isnt really ideal especially when you are carrying your make up around all day.This mascara really lasts all day, it still looks exactly the same 10 hours later!

I will definetly be re purchasing this item, alhough it is pricey it is worth every penny, they also do smaller versions which I would recommend trying first of all before splashing out on the full size product!

Please excuse the state of my eyebrows, just so you can see this product does actually work, this is after wearing this Mascara for about 8 hours!

Thanks for reading, hope this was helpful!

Courtney xo

@BloggCourtney

Revlon Photo Ready Primer | Review

Hey guys, so I have recently bought the revlon photo ready primer, I will be completely honest and the only reason I bought this particular primer was due to the fact the one I originally popped into boots to buy was out of stock, and this one seemed second best, and as usual I had left everything to last minute I had no time to pop to a different boots so I had to make do! 

I think this primer retails for around £11.00 ish! Considering this being a drug store product I was so impressed with this, it's leaves you skin feeling super soft but like the primer soaks into your skin instantly, my worry was that because of how soft it made my skin feel that my foundation would slide, which it didn't, this really makes my foundation last all day! I also found this primer to even out my skin tone, I have quite red cheeks and a red t-zone, and this evened them out really well! I even wear this primer alone on days when I'm just going to the gym and I will not be wearing makeup, but still need a little something to make me look presentable! 

Overall a great product for the money! I would definitely recommend this! 

Thanks for reading!

Courtney xo 

@BloggCourtney

Bed Head TIGI Dumb Blonde Review

Hey guys, I have recently been trying out loads of different shampoos and conditioners as I find it really hard to find one to tame my curly and frizzy locks. I used to use the Herbal Essence Bee Strong products which I absolutely love, but I find if I use the same shampoo and conditioner for a long time, my hair gets used to the product and it tends to not work as well, I find I end up needing to wash my hair more often and in my case my hair usually gets frizzier and more curly and hard to manage.

I have always been eyeing up the Bed Head range but I found they were too expensive, or the affordable ones were tiny bottles that really weren't worth buying. However I came across the Dumb Blonde shampoo and conditioner on Feel Unique a week or so ago and I just couldn't resist buying them. The RRP on the 750ml duo set is £43 which is crazy for shampoo and conditioner. I was looking around on different websites to see where I could find the best price with the quickest delivery, I found these on Feel Unique for £20.96 with free delivery. How could I not buy them?! Sadly the price has now gone up to roughly £26. I find these products to really smooth my hair out and actually seem to help with my fly away strands of hair. When applying the conditioner it doesn't really feel very moisturizing, and after washing it off it feels like you haven't applied conditioner at all, but once the hair is completely dry it feels super soft.

I would highly recommend these products, although they are expensive they are worth every penny.

Thanks for reading!

Courtney xo

@BloggCourtney

My 2013 Favourites!

Hey guys, so I was meaning to post this on the 1st of January, but unfortunately I was working 40+ hours and just didn't have the time, so here it is, better late than never right?

Okay so I am going to start off with the obvious but most important item, and that is my Nars Sheer glow foundation in Ceylan Light 6, I absolutely love this product, I originally bought this as a foundation to wear on special occasions, but I now use this everyday. I think it was around February last year that I first bought this and I have just re purchased my 3rd one, so only two bottles of this lasted me the whole of 2013, pretty impressive if I do say so my self. This product really goes a long way. As for coverage I would say its a medium coverage but is definitely build able to full coverage, it leaves the skin looking really dewy and healthy and stays put all day with or without a primer.

It took me about 2 months to actually buy this product, and I am so glad I did. I think what put me off was the price, at £24.50 I felt I had to be sure on the colour I wanted, I had about 3 lined up that I wanted to try and couldnt decide. I went with Peach Passion, YSL Rouge Volupte. The colour is absolutely gorgeous, I bought this in the summer and it was the perfect colour to wear daily, subtle and not too heavy. Saying that I have continued to wear this all winter and it still looks nice. The packaging on this product makes it feel like you have bought a special high end product, unlike products like MAC which are a similar price. I find quite alot of lipsticks to dry my lips out, but this is one of a few which doesn't, it feels like a lip salve when its applied and many hours later it still feels the same!

Okay now I am sure this product has made it onto quite few peoples favourites, its one of those product you really don't appreciate until you have run out. I have used 2 of the small tubes and I am now half way through the standard tube. I have tried so many hand creams and not one has come close to the Soap And Glory Hand Food, it is so moisturising and leaves your hands feeling super soft for hours after applying.

There isn't really much to say about this product other than its amazing. I tend to get really dry lips all of the time, either from wearing lipstick all the time or the weather, but I am always in need of this product. As far as I am aware there isn't anywhere in the UK that sells these ( I may be wrong), I have family who live in Canada and they actually send a bundle of these yearly. If you can get your hands on them I would definitely recommend!

This is the Ralph Lauren Big Pony Collection 2. I actually bought this because I knew someone that already owned it and I loved the smell, its a extremrly sweet smell, but fresh and the same time. Perfect summer fragrance, I have actually ran out of this at the moment, but will be repurchasing soon.

 So again for those of you that know me, will know I was completely obsessed with this Essie Nail varnish in the shade Fiji, I think I wore it everyday for at least a month, I really wanted a nude/white nail varnish this summer, I have tried many different ones, but they either make me look really pale or the white ones don't have very good coverage. I came across this one completely my accident in boots whilst I was away in Bournemouth for my 21st last year, its a off white colour with a slight pink tone, and I find it really compliments my skin tone.

So over the course of 2013 I have been in the process of changing my hair, my hair used to be super short and a really dark red colour, my hair is now just below my bra strap and blonde, I love it this colour, but I have had a few problems, what with the initial ginger look ( there is nothing wrong with ginger hair, it just wasn't the look I was going for) and then the brassy yellow tones once I started going blonder. I used this shampoo and condtioner twice a week for about 2 weeks and it knocked all the yellow tones out of my hair completely. It has saved me alot of money constantly getting my hair highlighted and also saved my hair from getting damaged, really inexpensive products also.

These are my favourite shoes I own, these are from Kurt Geiger, I bought them the beginning of last year with my Christmas Money. I will be honest they are not the easiest shoes to walk in, but the actual shoe itself is quite comfortable, they also have a ankle strap which definitely helps, I always find that when I buy a pair of shoes one foot is always bigger than the other, with this strap it stops me from stepping out of them when I walk. This picture doesnt really do them any justice, they arent as dark and what they look like in the picture, they are more of a true orange. I LOVE THEM ♥ 

Now for another pair of shoes, I bought these from New Look in September and I think they might be the pair of shoes I have worn the most. At £24.99 I couldnt resist buying them and I am so glad that I did, they are really comfortable and easy to walk it, and with the slingback design I can adjust them correctly so they fit perfectly.

This is a slightly strange item to be in a favourites post, but I think this may be the only necklace I actually wore all summer. I bought this from Primark at the beginning of summer, I cant remember the price im afraid, but it cant have been too much. I don't really own much statement jewellery so this was my go to item throughout the year, as you can tell its a coral orange colour (there seems to be a orange theme going on) which is a perfect colour for summer and I like to wear quite alot of white in the hotter weather and this was the perfect item to brighten up any look!

I hoped you enjoying reading this, there are loads of other items I could have listed but I didnt want this post to be even longer than it already is. I may do a Part II soon.

Courtney xo

@Bloggcourtney

My Nail Varnish Collection!

Hey guys, so I have decided to do something a little bit different instead of tags and reviews, and show you my nail varnish collection, for those of you that know me, you will know that I am completely obsessed with anything nails. Anything from shellac to polish to nail art. I am completely obsessed.

I recently purchased this nail varnish stand from amazon (here), I have been looking for one of these stands for such a long time but they are so expensive, the majority of them have retailed at around £30-£50. I found this one on Amazon for £14.98 inc postage, it was reduced by £30 which was a absolute bargain.

On this stand are my most used nail varnishes, and to be honest the ones that look better out on display, they include Barry M, Nails Inc, Essie, China glaze, Ultra Pro, Ciate, Revlon, No7, Seche and Sally Hanson.

I also have a draw full of nail varnishes and gels, these include more of the brands above, and also my CND Shellac and Blue Sky shellac which unfortunately do not fit onto my stand. 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Courtney xo

@Bloggcourtney

TAG: How Much Is My Face Worth!

Hey guys, so it has been a while since I have done a tag post on my blog, well in fact it has been a while since I have posted anything, so apologies for that, lets just class it as a Christmas break and I shall hopefully be back to posting weekly maybe even more, one of my new years resoloutions was to try to not abandon my blog as much as I started to last year. Considering it is already the middle of January I am not doing very well so far, but I have a lot of posts now saved as drafts just waiting to be published.

Okay so I was recently looking through many different blogs looking at different Tags, and one of the current most popular one was the 'How much is my face worth' and I was so shocked to see how quickly the cost of the make up mounts up, so I thought I would give it a go. I also haven't included my skin care routine, this is just makeup, and for some of the brushes they were in a set, so the price will be for the set not individually.

Face

Monu Illuminating Primer  - This was free with Glossybox, full size retails at £24.95

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Light 6, Ceylan £30.50

Collection Last Perfection Conclear - Shade 1. £4.19

Maybelline The Eraser Eye - Shade Light £7.99

YSL Touche Eclat - Shade 2. £25.00

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - 003 Peach Glow £3.99

Sleek Contour Kit - Shade Fair £9.99

MAC Matte Blush  - Melba £18.00

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish - Lightscapade £22.00


Eyes/Brows

Sephora Jumbo Liner - 5 Beige £8.52

Sephora Contour Eye Pencil - 15 Flirting Game £6.08

L'Oreal Super Liner - Black Intense £5.49

Benefit They're Real - Black £19.50

L'Oreal Brow Artiste - Blonde £5.49


Lips

YSL Rouge Volupte - Peach Passion £24.50


Brushes ETC

Real Techniques Core Collection - Contour & Buffing Brush used. £21.99

Real Techniques Blush £9.99

Real Techniques Stipple £11.99

No7 Face and Body  £11.99

No7 Eyelash Curler £7.25

Elf Setting Spray £3.25

TOTAL £257.70

I am well aware that I probably buy too much makeup, but I really didn't expect my total to be that high, I also didn't realise how many products I actually use until listing them above. It makes you feel quite sick when you think what else you could have bought with that money, also the fact that make up runs out/drys up/goes out of date and you are constantly repurchasing products and this doesnt include the make up you pick up throughout the month just for the sake of it to try it out.

Thanks for reading, if you are reading this I tag you to see how much your face is worth!

Courtney xo

Christmas Nails!

Hey guys, so as some of you are aware I am completely obsessed with painting my nails, for the past 6 months I have had shellac on my nails, which don't get my wrong I love, but because I do them myself it works out quite expensive what with constantly wanting new colours, top and base coat, uv lamp and removers and residue removers it's quite pricey! Over the Christmas season I like to change my nails quite a lot, so I soaked all the shellac off my nails, and bought some nail varnishes! 

Firstly I started off by applying a thin coat of Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Base coat, I would highly recommend this as it drys super quick and prevents nail varnish from staining your nails, also helps your nail varnish last longer! Next I applied two coats of Rimmel Urban Purple, this is the perfect winter colour, it just looks so festive, you could probably get away with just one coat if this, but two coats definitely lasts longer! Once this had completely dried I applied one coat of Revlon Sequins in Gold, I must admit this isn't the easiest nail polish to apply as it's quite thick and doesn't spread across the nails very well, you kind of had to pat in on to actually get the gold flakes to stick to you nails. Then to finish of I applied a thin coat of Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat, I absolutely love this, firstly it dries in just 45 seconds, so it advoids the annoying smudges and chips straight away, and it leaves your nails super shiney! I also find my nails last a lot long after using this! 

Thanks for reading :) 

Courtney xo

-@Bloggcourtney